A Quest for Truth & Knowledge

All study is a quest for truth. Research is an attempt to add original contribution to knowledge of truth. It is therefore a search for accurate truth and new knowledge through arguments and findings. A research paper is not a long essay which may be defined as ‘a loose sally of the mind’ implying its emotional ingredients. It is a scholarly, organized piece which has a logical development and ‘a dialectical pattern’. It has an imaginative and intellectual unity. This paper sincerely attempts to elucidate the structure, the methodology and salient features of a research paper.

Topic selection:

It is better that a researcher selects his selects his own topic based on the material he enjoys reading either for personal reasons or for intellectual development in any field of knowledge. The topic need not be of popular taste and interest. The title of a research paper need not be a catchy one. It should not be alliterative either. The title must clearly indicate the matter to be discussed. The choice of the title must not be just emotional; it must be intellectual also.

Structure:

The structure of a research paper should have a beginning, middle and an end. It usually begins with a definite statement in a paragraph or two, of the scope and purpose of the paper. It must draw the attention of the reader, giving him a feel that the writer is making an important statement. Then the arguments are to be presented coherently and clearly. While doing so one must avoid flowery language and literary ornamentation. Facts should never be sacrificed at the altar of rhetoric. The body of the paper should have clear-cut sections and paragraphs which are logically developed. In other words, the body of the paper must recollect the beginning and it should naturally lead to conclusions drawn from the arguments and discussions which are embedded in the body of the research paper. The conclusions must be stated with clarity and conclusions.

R.W.Mckerrow divides the thesis into three segments: Boost, Demonstration and Conclusion. In the ‘Boost’ the researcher magnifies with a reasonable exaggeration the significance of his discovery and his contribution to the realm of knowledge. This is carried out with the strength and vigour of his arguments. The text of a thesis is what Mckerrow calls ‘Demonstration’. The findings of the researcher are the result of argumentation carried out in the demonstration of the thesis. Materials are collected from different sources and then analyzed through the tool of arguments. His arguments must be ordered, consolidated, classified and presented in the paper. The researcher usually provokes discussion while arguing; however, his arguments should neither be over-stated nor dogmatic. The validity of the research paper (thesis) depends upon the researcher’s skill in raising questions and answering them argumentatively. The conclusions must reflect the final truth of the study by means of judgement and critical analysis.

Language:

A research paper is a product of serious writing; therefore colloquial expressions, conversational English contractions, slangs and words like ‘you’/’they’, worn out words like ‘question and doubtless’ must be carefully avoided. Expressions like ‘it is generally admitted’, ‘there can be no doubt about that’ and ‘it is well known that’ should not find a place in the research paper. There is no room for humor or loose digressions in serious writing.

Style:

The researcher should have a natural style while expressing his ideas. He should be very modest in his use of language and so sarcasm and irony must be avoided when references are made to critical studies. In a research paper expressions like ‘certainly’, ‘obviously’ and ‘of course’ are considered to be immodest. On the other hand, use of expressions like’possibly’,’probably’, ‘perhaps’ and ‘it would seem’ are permitted in serious writing. Information being labeled as ‘interesting’, ‘unusual’, ‘long’ and ‘complicated’ must be usually be avoided. A research paper should avoid superlative expressions. The quality of a serious paper is to be precise in use of expressions. The researcher’s expressions must not be flowery, beautiful or pompous. They must indeed persuade the readers to his logic and rhetoric.

Consistency is a mark of a good research paper. Consistency in the use of notes in the thesis and bibliography along with the style will go a long way in enriching the merit of the research paper.

A research paper is a report of the findings of a researcher. So it should be objective containing no generalities. Vague references such as ‘many’, ‘some’ or ‘someone’ and the use of the personal pronouns like ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’ or obscure introductions such as ‘someone has said’ and ‘it has been said’ must be generally avoided. The subject, therefore, must be treated objectively. From the first sentence to the last one, the research paper must be written in a third person, purely from an impersonal angle.

As the research paper records the findings of a researcher, such findings must be based on previous findings. To document the previous the findings, one resorts to quotation. The quotation, in fact, substantiates a fact or reinforces an idea or illustrates an observation. But too many quotations mar the originality of the researcher. A research paper must contain one or two quoted passages in a page. In other words, eighty percent of the material must form the researcher’s own composition.

A paragraph generally does not begin with a quoted passage. The quotation must be a part of the paragraph. The paragraph usually begins with a ‘topic’ sentence; the last sentence must be the researcher’s own idea or a comment on the view he has borrowed. This idea has to be faithfully followed; particularly while writing the last paragraph of the research paper.

Documentation is a vital component in a research paper. The source material when it is documented proves the authenticity and intellectual honesty of the researcher. It incidentally saves him from plagiarism. Any observation or fact or an opinion or data and statics which is not the researcher’s own must be documented by the foot-notes; such a faithful record of others’ findings not only proves the integrity of the researcher but also adds an air of scholarship to the research paper.

Apart from the foot-notes, the research paper must also contain the bibliography. The bibliographical entries must be alphabetically written at the end of the research paper. The last name of the author must come first in all such entries.

Conclusion:

To sum up, a research paper which is a serious scholarly composition must be very objective in its presentation. As its primary objective is pursuit of truth, it must reflect the original contribution to knowledge. It must have a logical development of the thesis fully supported by already established findings. The researcher must involve his own findings using the technique of observation and interpretation. Thus the research paper is a rewarding intellectual experience of a researcher contributing to the realm of knowledge.